3.5/5 stars

Short and Sweet:

While I had some trouble connecting to the story here and there, the authorial voice is absolutely phenomenal.


To Elaborate...

Imogen knows how the world and fairy tales work. The hot, skinny girls get the princes, and the plump stepsisters like herself get nothing. The princess in her story falls in the form of Ella Cinder, her new stepsister whose beauty could easily fit the storybook Cinderella's, but whose personality rivals the meanest wicked witch's. Imogen has to battle through her own depression, anxiety, and insecurity as Ella throws all the malicious tools she has at her.


I had strong highs and lows for this book, so I'm just going to break them down in list form.


Loves:

1.) The voice- Imogen's narrative is ridiculously familiar for anyone who has any insecurity (so basically everyone). She can only focus on her negatives. She is so realistic and more than occasionally heartbreaking because of that.


2.) Grant- He's a keeper book boyfriend.


3.) The stepmother, Evelyn, and Imogen's father- I am so, so, so happy to see a book where the parent/step-parent feels NORMAL. So often they fall into one extreme or the other, which of course does happen in real life sometimes, but it's refreshing to see both the good and bad sides to these parents. Evelyn does not always take Ella's side, and she truly seems to care for Imogen. Imogen's father is rarely home, and that causes lots of tension, but he cares in his own way as well. They go through plenty of family bumps during the story, but it all feels real.




Not-So-Loves:

1.) Imogen's dialogue- This isn't a constant dislike through the whole story, and I completely understand why Imogen is so self-destructive, but sometimes it just got really exhausting. Especially towards the second half, it was easy to get frustrated with her (though I absolutely was still rooting for her).


2.) Ella- While there are some hints that there is a reason why Ella is such a mean person, they aren't explored much. It kept teasing the surface that maybe she was hurt after her parents split up and she dealt with bullies as well, but her character is primarily flat. I would, however, read a companion book with her as the main character in order to find out exactly what's going on with her. *hopes there is one*


3.) Imogen's friends- Not all of them and not all the time, but sometimes I just got annoyed with her circle of people. I get they are in theater, but they took dramatic to a whole new level here and there, and that would get old. I probably liked them about 65% of the time.


Overall, I would recommend this if you want a deeper contemporary read that brings up some intense issues. Even though there were a few things I really didn't like, I still liked it in the end, and I will definitely be looking forward to more from this author.


Originally posted at I Heart YA Fiction: http://iheartyafiction.blogspot.com/2014/10/review-damsel-distressed-by-kelsey-macke.html